Paulo Gaspar de Almeida was speaking at the opening of the meeting of experts at the bilateral defense and security meeting with DRCongo, which will gather Angolan and Congolese delegations until Wednesday in Luanda.
The Congolese delegation is chaired by Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Gilbert Kankonde.
“We are still concerned with the record of constant cross-border crimes and incidents such as illegal immigration, fuel smuggling, human and drug trafficking, diamond trafficking, poaching, drug trafficking. These are situations that, if not controlled and prevented, may affect the political, economic and social stability of our countries ”, underlined the commander-general.
About Angola, Paulo Gaspar de Almeida said that he is experiencing a moment of peace and stability in political and defense and security terms, which "unfortunately" is not accompanied by the economic and social situation "strongly affected by the global economic and financial crisis" with the aggravating factor of the covid-19 pandemic.
“The world and our countries live and face the dangers and consequences caused by the pandemic that has been causing a lot of damage to international relations and, in particular, to our socio-economic relations”, he noted.
For the commander-general of the National Police, sharing “a vast common and related frontier, especially in the social, economic, cultural domains”, it is in the scope of defense and security that Angola wants to strengthen cooperation at this meeting.
"In this bilateral meeting, we will create the conditions to streamline and structure the functioning of our bilateral security commission, we will create the bases for this our commission to be de facto permanent," he said.
Angola wants to approve three instruments “that will solidify relations” in this context: two cooperation agreements between the Angolan Ministry of Interior and its Congolese counterpart in matters of defense and security and movement of people, and the constitution of a permanent mixed defense commission. and security between the two countries.
The bilateral commission meeting, which runs until Wednesday, will analyze the security situation along the common border, with emphasis on security measures to mitigate the spread of covid-19 along the border and to prevent and combat terrorism. and illegal immigration.
The location, rehabilitation and replacement of border landmarks, and the analysis and assessment of incidents along the common border will also be on the table at the bilateral meeting.
